


Boyfriends...?

by ToshiChan



Category: Teen Power Inc | Raven Hill Mysteries - Emily Rodda
Genre: Angst, Boys In Love, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Teen Romance, but i dont care, nobody ships this except me, soft, supportive friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-23 22:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17692202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToshiChan/pseuds/ToshiChan
Summary: Richelle is certain Nick and Elmo are hiding something from the other members of Teen Power Inc. and tries to rope the other into finding out what it is. She wasn't expecting to find out they were...boyfriends?





	Boyfriends...?

“Something’s up with Nick and Elmo,” Richelle said firmly one lunch time, when the two people in question were both away from school and as such couldn’t complain about the topic of conversation. Elmo had been off for most of the week with the flu according to their teachers, and Nick just hadn’t shown up for school on this specific day for no mentioned reason.

“And that means?” Tom frowned over at her before focussing back on devouring the last of his sandwich.

“It means they’re keeping something from us.” Richelle pulled a face at Tom as he wiped his hands messily on his shirt. “As in both of them know something, something connected and they’re not telling us.”

“And that concerns us why?” Sunny glanced over from her perch at a tree. She was doing chin-ups on one of the low hanging branches and was yet to even break a sweat.

“Because they’re out friends.” Richelle huffed. “We deserve to know, don’t we?”

“Or we could just ignore it.” Tom said dramatically.

“No!”

“It’s because you don’t like not knowing what’s going on.” Liz scowled. She’d been in a bit of a bad mood and was lacking the patience to deal with Richelle today. “It could be a personal matter Richelle. Just let it go.”

“Or it could be something that does concern us.” Richelle insisted. “What if Elmo hasn’t got the flu. What if he’s got cancer but he’s only told Nick.” The others all burst out laughing. “What, it could be true. His mother died of cancer, right?” This stopped the laughter dead in its tracks.

“Don’t talk like that Richelle.” Sunny said seriously. “That’s not a matter you should be concerned with.”

“Whatever,” Richelle tossed her hair back. “I’m still saying we should look into this.”

“I’ve never seen you get so interested in Elmo before.” Tom said innocently, starting on his second bag of chips.

“I just think it’s rude to keep secrets.” Richelle went on as if Tom hadn’t even spoken. “In fact, I’m going to pay Nick a visit after school.”

“Whatever, you know he’ll just blow you off.” Tom laughed. “You’re never going to find out what’s going on.”

“We’ll see,” Richelle said smugly. “Just you wait Tom Moysten. I’ll make you eat those words.”

* * *

Richelle flounced by Tom the next morning without a single word, seating herself at her desk and taking out her supplies.

“Did Nicky Boy tell you everything?” Tom called after her. “Did he tell you _anything_?”

“Shut your mouth Moysten.” Richelle hissed.

“Yup, he totally blew you off.”

“He wasn’t even home, if you have to know.” Richelle said coolly. “His mum said he was out seeing a friend.”

“So that’s why she’s upset.” Sunny whispered to Liz. “She thinks Nick is replacing us.”

“No I don’t.” Richelle said hotly. “S-shut up.”

“Oh Richelle, by the way.” Liz gave her a kind smile, her patience back in full strength today. “We’re all dropping by to see Elmo tonight, just to check up on him. Do you want to come?”

“I’ll see if I can make time in my schedule.” Richelle hummed before finally agreeing. “I guess I can come.”

“Not like you have anything else to do,” Sunny said pointedly. Whilst Liz’s patience had come back, Sunny certainly didn’t seem in the mood to deal with Richelle.

“That’s not true Sunny Chang.” Richelle snapped.

“We’re meeting at the gates after school. If you’re late we’ll leave without you.” Tom teased her.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“You’ll just have to wait and see-e,” Tom sang in delight, before the teacher entered the classroom and shut the discussion up.

All through the lesson the group stared at the door, waiting for Nick to arrive from his mysterious day off.

He never came.

* * *

It took them almost an hour to get to Elmo’s place after school ended. The walk to Elmo’s house wasn’t long in the sense that it was far from the school. However, the gang had only been to Elmo’s house once during the incident with the missing cats. That was awhile ago, and Nick had been the one to lead the way. Elmo was almost always at The Pen so there was no need to know him home address anyway. Still, Liz was very upset about it, claiming it made her feel like a bad friend. In the end, they had to ask for help from some neighbours who knew where the house was.

“What if he’s not even at his house?” Tom said as they stared up at the two story house that looked like it had walked out of the 1930’s, minus a slightly newer balcony. “What if he’s at the Pen?”

“He shouldn’t be.” Sunny said wisely. “Otherwise he’ll get everyone sick.”

“We’ll just have to knock and see.” Liz marched forward to do just that.

“What if he’s sleeping?” Tom piped up.

“He’s here,” Sunny gestured upwards. The window that led to the balcony was open, curtains flapping wildly in the breeze. “You know how cautious Zim and Elmo are with everything since the fire and all the trouble we’ve gotten into. They wouldn’t leave a window open if they weren’t home.”

“So how do we get in?” Liz frowned. “He’s not answering the door.” She knocked again and they all waited. Nobody came to open it.  

“We could throw something through the window.” Tom mused.

“No way, you could break something. Or you could hit Elmo.” Sunny reminded him. “If that’s his bedroom, of course.”

“Any other bright ideas?” Tom asked the small group.

“We just leave.”  Richelle sighed, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

“Elmo’s been really sick Richelle. I want to check up on him.” Liz protested.

“So we go talk to Zim,” Richelle yawned. “Come back tomorrow or something. If he’s not answering the door then there’s nothing we can do.”

“Yes there is.” Tom bent down to the row of little pot plants that lined the path up to the door way. They were well tended to, suggesting that Elmo was probably a gardener. Zim wouldn’t have the time to take care of anything that needed that much attention.

“What are you doing?” Sunny asked.

“I heard Elmo tell Nick once that he kept a spare key under a pot plant near the door. Can’t remember which one though. Gimme a sec.” Tom said. He mucked around with the pots before exclaiming in delight and triumphantly brandishing a key, bits of dirt sticking to it.

“And why would Elmo tell Nick that?” Richelle sang out. “See, they’re up to something.”

“Or Nick needed to grab something from Elmo’s place when he wasn’t around to let him in. He’s the one who knows where Elmo lives. And I think they swap video games a lot.” Sunny said sensibly. “Let’s just go inside and check on Elmo.”

Tom slotted the key into the lock and turned it, pushing his way inside. The others followed, looking around at the new surroundings. The house seemed neat at first. There was just the odd book left around and some newspapers dumped on cabinets and a coffee table. On second look however, you could tell it hadn’t been looked after well. There was dust everywhere, there were weird stains here and there. The house smelt musty and the smell of sickness hung in the air. An upturned bucket lay near the stairs and a cold cup of tea rested on a small table by the door.

“This place needs a serious makeover,” Richelle eyed the faded wall paper.

“Let’s just head upstairs.” Liz said eagerly. “Oh we should have brought him a gift, maybe a book to read or some of the nice tea he drinks.”

“He won’t care,” Richelle said flippantly. “Let’s just get this over with. This place is seriously hurting my eyes.”

“Oh lay off Richelle,” Tom snapped, serious for once. “It’s a single income household, they’re always working late. So it can’t be well kept. Not everyone can afford a maid like your family.”

“Up,” Sunny ordered before an argument could break out.

They trooped up the stairs and found a landing with three doors leading off it and a small living space piled high with folders, newspapers and files. One door was open slightly revealing a bathroom with cracked tiles. Sunny knocked quietly on the other but it swung open under her fist to show the master bedroom, sheets pulled back and plates left on every surface available. She shut it quietly and nodded at the last door.

Tom knocked but got no answer.

“He’s sleeping.” Richelle decided. “Let’s go.”

“I just wanna check on him.” Liz insisted. “Just one little peep.”

Tom pushed the door open much like he’d pushed the front door open. The group poured in and came across a scene they never expected to see.

* * *

Elmo was lying on his bed with his head on somebody’s knees. Said person was bending down to press a kiss into Elmo’s curly hair. The editor in training smiled fondly at this, reaching out and carding a hand through the kisser’s hair. Elmo’s cat was curled around the two teens, purring loudly in content.

“Love you,” the person whispered.

“Love you too,”

“NICK?”

“WHAT?”

* * *

Elmo and the boy (Nick apparently if Richelle was right) he’d been with sprung apart and whilst Elmo’s back hit the window with a dull thud, the other toppled right off the bed and lay sprawled on the floor staring up at the gang. Elmo groaned in pain and fumbled around for his reading glasses which he needed more often these days and shoved them onto his nose.

“Guys?” He grumbled. “How did you get in here?”

“Never mind that.” The boy on the floor snapped. “Help me up.”

Elmo lent over the side of the bed and reached out for the boy he’d been so very affectionate with. Very weakly, and in an almost comical fashion, Elmo tugged him back onto the bed and linked their fingers together.

Now the gang could finally see the boy properly, and work out who he was.

And Richelle had been right.

Sitting there grumpily, dark hair messy and eyebrows furrowed into a frown, was everybody’s favourite tech wiz, Nick Kontellis.  For a moment, all anybody could do was stand and gape at the two boys.

“Um…” Tom broke the silence. “Huh?”

“So…” Sunny too, was at a loss for words.

Elmo buried his head in Nick’s chest in what was apparently embarrassment. Nobody seemed to know what to say. Nobody at all.

It was Nick who broke the silence.

“What are you doing here?” Nick seemed outwardly cool and collected, though it was probably an act.

“We were worried about Elmo.” Liz managed to say. “We wanted to check on him.”

“Didn’t think to call?” Nick raised an eyebrow.

“How were we supposed to do that?” Richelle snapped. Unlike Nick, she wasn’t able to keep up a calm image. She was flustered, stressed, annoyed, confused.

Elmo pulled his head free from Nick, cheeks red as he kept his eyes downwards. “Um…I’m sure you have lots of questions.”

“Which we don’t have to answer.” Nick cut in.

_We…_

“Should we leave?” Liz asked, ever the peacemaker.

“That’d be nice.” Elmo said softly, eyes flickering up to meet Nick’s. “We can talk later. Tomorrow maybe. Just, give us some time.”

“But!” Richelle protested loudly.

“No buts.” Sunny grabbed Richelle and dragged her out of the room. Liz and Tom followed.

“We have a right to know!” Richelle yelled as she was tugged down the stairs.

“It’s their business.” Sunny snapped. “If they want to tell us anything, it’s up to them. We don’t have a right to nose around in their relationship.”

“I think it’s cute.” Liz offered.

“It’s weird.” Richelle huffed. “They’re both boys. That isn’t right.”

“Who says it isn’t?” Tom snapped. “Who are we to judge?”

“But…”

“Oh shut up Richelle. Give it a rest for the day.” Tom marched out the door and headed in the direction of his home. “I’m going home.”

“But…”

“Stop with the buts Richelle. Stop being a prat.” Tom was seriously pissed now. “Who have you to right to question our friends?”

Richelle’s mouth snapped shut and she stared stonily at the floor.  Tom had hit a nerve. Richelle was a fairly up herself person but she did care about her friends. And yes, she wasn’t really on board about the new relationship so perhaps Tom did have the right to tell her to shut up. But it still upset her.

The little group disbanded without another word. Upstairs, standing on the balcony, Elmo and Nick watched them leave. If the teens had looked back, they would have seen Nick turn and bury himself in Elmo. And they would have seen Elmo hug him back just as tightly.

* * *

They had to wait a full weekend before coming face to face with the boys again. The few jobs that Teen Power Inc were handling were small and required only one person to complete them, so not even work had brought them together. Liz, Sunny, Richelle and Tom had been forced to wait, conscious that Elmo and Nick needed time. They didn’t want to go out of their way to bother them.

Monday came and the four gathered in their usual meeting spot, waiting for their two friends to (hopefully) arrive. Richelle was restless, actually pacing back and forth and fluffing her hair anxiously.

“Why are you so stressed?” Sunny asked eventually. “This doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

“I want to know what’s going on with them.” Richelle huffed.

“A relationship.” Liz shrugged. “Obviously.”

“Yes, but what kind.”

“A romantic one. Bit slow on the uptake today, Richelle. Was the weekend not long enough for you to work that out?” Tom teased.

“But why?” Richelle honest to god wrung her hands. “Why are they dating?”

“Cause we like each other.” A shy voice interrupted.

All four teens spun to see Nick and Elmo standing behind them, holding hands. It was Elmo who had spoken. Nick was rarely shy about anything.

“Tell me everything!” Richelle burst out.

“Richelle.” Liz scolded.

“Sorry.” Richelle amended. “Tell _us_ everything.”

“It’s none of our business.” Sunny said before Nick or Elmo could reply.

“We’re their friends.” Richelle protested.

“So, we value their privacy.” Liz said patiently. “Richelle, what is wrong with you? Surely a gay relationship isn’t this hard for you to understand?”

Richelle pursed her lips and fell silent. It seemed she couldn’t voice what the problem was or simply didn’t care to.

“We’ve been dating for a year now.” Nick said suddenly. “Is that enough for you?”

“A year?!” Tom burst out. “That’s ages!”

“We worked really hard to keep it hidden.” Elmo shuffled his feet. “We would’ve been happy to keep doing that, if not for the fact…”

“That you invaded our privacy.” Nick said coolly.

Even Richelle had the decency to look ashamed.

“We’re sorry.” Liz apologised on the behalf of the others. “We just wanted to visit Elmo, because he’d been sick all week.”

“You tracked down his spare key to get into the house.” Nick pointed out.

“We were worried.” Liz looked away.

“I appreciate the thought.” Elmo took a step closer to Nick. “But…”

“Common decency doesn’t excuse the fact that you all but broke in.” Nick finished.

“That’s a little extreme.” Tom frowned.

“We just want to be treated like any other couple.” Elmo sighed. “We knew it would never happen. People like us, we don’t get the same rights as you do. We’re never going to have it easy.”

“So you’re gay?” Richelle cut in.

The look Nick gave her was almost chilling. “Way to miss the point.” He all but snarled.

“Nick,” Elmo said calmly, or rather, attempted to stay calmly. There was a wobble in his voice he couldn’t quite hide. He looked at Richelle and smiled as kindly as he could. “Yes, I am gay, Richelle. I have been my whole life. My romantic interest is in men and men alone.”

“And you, Nick?” Richelle moved on quickly.

“No.” He said bluntly.

“That doesn’t make sense.” Tom looked between the two. “You’re dating Elmo.”

“Yep.” Nick reached out and wrapped an arm around Elmo. It was startling to see him so relaxed and at ease with someone else. “Still not gay.”

“Bisexual?” Sunny asked.

“What’s that?” Richelle puzzled.

“Means he likes boys and girls.”

“Nope.” Nick sounded smug. He liked to be mysterious.

“Then what are you?” Liz asked as gently as she could.

It was an obvious question, but it still apparently caught Nick off guard. He took a step back and looked at Elmo with wide, startled eyes.

“Okay, we’re done here for now.” Elmo said abruptly. “Question time is over. We’ve got school.”

He and Nick stepped apart and they walked into school as separate people.

It must have hurt. But they had to.

* * *

Liz cornered Richelle, Sunny and Tom at recess.

“We have to fix this.”

“How?” Tom grumbled. “We’ve really screwed things up.”

 “We apologise, promise to never bring it up again and just pretend everything’s normal.” Sunny said firmly.

“But…”

“Richelle, just cut it out. We don’t have the right to know their stuff.” Liz cut her off sharply. “We told you to let it go but you didn’t and now look what’s happened.”

“It wasn’t just me.” Richelle opened her eyes wide and plastered a look of innocence on.

“No.” Sunny agreed. “It was all of us. We’re just admitting it, unlike you.”

“Let’s not fight.” Liz pleaded. “We can fix this. We do what Sunny suggested. We apologise. We give them space. We go on like normal. That’s what they want. We’re their friends. We should act like it. Okay?”

“Okay.” Sunny and Tom said easily.

“…”

“Richelle.” There was something in Liz’s voice that was usually never present.

Liz was well and truly pissed.

“Okay.” Richelle said.

“Good.” Lis smiled, satisfied. “It’s agreed. We’ll find them after school.”

“Why not lunch?” Tom wanted to know.

“Just in case we need lots of time. I don’t want things to suddenly have to end and there’s all this tension.” Liz explained.

“You’re so nice, Liz.” Sunny laughed.

“Someone has to be.” Liz rolled her eyes good naturedly.

The bell rang then, and the meeting had to disband. But operation Fix It was all planned and ready to go.

There was just the rest of school to get through.

* * *

When school ended, the four members of Teen Power Inc who weren’t Nick and Elmo were out of their seats and packed up faster than anyone would think possible. The couple were probably going to try and avoid them, but this wasn’t something they could avoid. It had to be dealt with.

“There.” Sunny pointed through the thick of students. “I see them.”

She led the way. The other students moved out of her way automatically. Sunny had a reputation as a bad ass who would and could fight anyone who dared cross her.

Nick and Elmo were clearly trying to get out of school and head home before the gang could get to them. They were walking closely together, heads bent down as they forced their way through the crowds of kids.

“Nick, Elmo, wait!” Liz called.

Elmo turned at the sound of her voice but Nick kept walking. When Elmo spotted them gaining fast, he sighed in a resigned manner and grabbed Nick’s hand to hold him in place.

“Hey.” Nick complained, but he didn’t try to tug free. Together, he and Elmo faced their friends.

“Please give us one more chance.” Liz pleaded. “To fix things.”

Elmo glanced at Nick. The two seemed to have a silent conversation through a lot of eyebrow raising and frowning. It was almost impressive, just how much they could understand each other even without words. They really were close.

“Fine.” Nick said finally. “But not here. Can we go to The Glenn?”

“Sounds good.” Sunny agreed on behalf of Tom, Liz and Richelle.

They walked in silence. Nick and Elmo kept looking over at each other. They were walking ahead of the others and their hands would brush occasionally. However, they’d always recoil when other people were around.

“Look,” Liz whispered to Sunny. “They’re really scared about other people knowing.”

“It makes sense.” Sunny replied just as quietly. “A relationship like theirs isn’t normal. You know that people don’t like it, even hate it. It’s smart to keep it hidden.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Liz shrugged. “But wouldn’t it be painful as well.”

Even Sunny, who always thought about what made sense and made decisions based on that, had to agree that having your relationship exist in secret, with the fear that it ever did get discovered it would be shunned and belittled, would be a tremendous burden. Nick and Elmo would have to (and currently were) constantly justify themselves to other people who shouldn’t even care about these boys and their lives.

They arrived at the park that The Glenn boarded. Since school was out, the playground was overrun with young kids and their parents, free for the day and desperate to play before it got dark. Teenagers hung around on the fringes of the larger groups, sipping ice-coffee and chatting in the shade of the trees. A few groups were nearer to The Glenn than the others, but nobody had actually gone into it. People still believed the rumours that it was haunted. Plus, it was a patch of bush. There were snakes and mud and bugs.

Elmo and Nick headed for The Glenn gratefully. The moment they were off the beaten track and deep enough in to be hidden, they linked hands and held tight. Liz smiled softly to herself. She’d said it after they’d found out, and she’d say it again.

Nick and Elmo were cute together.

The gang spread themselves out around the clearing they frequented often. Sunny hauled herself up onto a low hanging branch and dangled her legs off it. Richelle brushed some dirt off a large rock and sat down gracefully. Tom sprawled himself out on the ground and Liz joined him.

Nick leant against a tree and Elmo sat on another rock next to it. They were still holding hands.

“We’d like to apologise again.” Liz said once everyone was comfortable. “And not just for breaking in. We’re sorry for that, obviously, but we’re sorry for everything else as well. We treated you really badly. We were like the people you were so afraid to tell and that was really shitty of us.”

“Language Liz.” Tom teased.

Liz shot him a look. “Not now Tom.” She turned back to Nick and Elmo and clasped her hands together. “We’re really sorry about everything. We’ve all agreed not to bring it up again unless you want to. We respect your privacy.”

“Yeah.” Tom chipped in. “We’re your friends. We don’t want to lose you.” He was so earnest, so eager to fix the gang before it could split in two.

“We won’t tell anyone either.” Sunny said from above.

Nick and Elmo instantly relaxed. It was a small thing, something only Sunny really noticed because she was looking for it. They’d actually been worried that Liz, Richelle, Tom and Sunny might go and tell someone. What kind of friends were they if that had been a big fear?

“Is…are we good?” Liz asked hopefully.

Nick opened his mouth, but Elmo cut him off. “Yeah.” He said, and he sounded just as relieved as the others felt. “We’re good.”

“We’re not.” Nick protested. “No, don’t try and pretend it is Elmo. This isn’t over yet. Richelle hasn’t said anything. She hasn’t apologised.”

The girl in question looked up. Her blue eyes blinked in shock. For what felt like an eternity, Nick and Richelle just stared eat each other.

Nick and Richelle had always been one of the closest pairs in the gang. Their somewhat snobbish attitudes meant they agreed with each other a lot. They had similar backgrounds and similar interests. If you were to ask an outsider to couple up the kids in Teen Power Inc. they would most definitely put Nick and Richelle together. It was a strange friendship but it was there and it was real.

Now, Richelle had reacted the most violently to the revelation that Nick and Elmo were dating, and Nick refused to forgive the others until she explained herself.

“Sorry.” Richelle mumbled. “Happy?”

“No.” Nick snapped.

“Nick…” Elmo whispered.

“No, Elmo. I’m not happy. Richelle is being…disgusting!” Nick yelled.

The others jumped. Nick never really lost his temper in such a way. He thought it was undignified. He radiated a calm and poised attitude and he couldn’t keep it if he got angry over things he thought weren’t fair.

“Richelle.” Elmo looked at the girl. Elmo and Richelle were the least likely members of Teen Power Inc. to get paired off. They were too different and in such a way that always annoyed the other. But here he was, appealing to her in that gentle way of his, so that Nick could be happy “Please, tell us what’s wrong. Didn’t you come here to fix things?”

“Maybe they did.” Richelle flicked a dismissive finger at Tom who was the closest to her. “But I didn’t.”

“What’s the big deal?” Nick growled.

Richelle shrugged and started to examine the tips of her hair.

“No, seriously.” Nick pulled himself free from Elmo and marched over to her.

“Leave it alone, Nick Kontellis.” Richelle used Nick’s last name which was a habit of hers when she was annoyed or flustered.

“I won’t.” Nick stood over her. “Tell me why you hate me and Elmo being together so much.”

“Because you’re not with me!” Richelle cried.

Oh.

_Oh._

“Oh.” Nick said in a small voice.

“Oh.” Elmo said in an equally small voice.

Richelle’s face went a very bright shade of red. Tears welled in her eyes but for once, she held them back.

“Go ahead and laugh at me.” She said bitterly. “It’s funny, isn’t it. Poor little Richelle, thought she and Nick had something special. Poor, poor Richelle, who thought she and Nick were meant to be. Instead he chooses _Elmo.”_ She hugged herself and glared fiercely as though daring them to tease her.

Elmo stood up and moved to stand next to Nick. He looked nervously between his boyfriend and Richelle, waiting for some sort of reaction.

“Richelle,” Liz started to say but Richelle shook her head angrily.

“I don’t need your pity, Liz. I know I have no right to be angry over this, but I am and you have to deal with that.”

“Richelle.” Nick spoke, and she didn’t cut him off like she had with Liz. She sat back and let him speak. “Richelle, I’m sorry you feel that way. I’m sorry I didn’t notice your feelings. I really am. But I’m not interested in you, alright? I’m not and I never will be. I’m really sorry. I never intended to lead you on, even if I’m not sure I really did. But you can’t take your anger on me out on Elmo.”

Richelle blinked. She looked between the two. Elmo Zimmer, the boy who’d been alone his whole life but now had four awesome friends and a loving boyfriend. Nick Kontellis, the smooth talking guy who pretended to care about nothing but actually cared deeply for his childhood friends and adorable boyfriend. Nick, the boy she’d always thought she liked, but who had never really defended her from anyone else. Here was Nick, defending Elmo.

From her.

“I never had a chance, did I.” Richelle nearly laughed. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to apologise. Really, don’t. I’m the only one at fault here. I’m sorry Elmo, Nick.”

“Okay.” Nick leant into Elmo. “We’re good.”

Elmo turned to face him and in the slowly setting sun of the afternoon, his hair shone like fire. Nick’s eyes flashed and his usual smirk softened into a fond smile.

They kissed.

“See,” Liz whispered, overjoyed that her friends felt comfortable again. “Cute.”

Not a single person could protest against her on that.

Nick and Elmo were undeniably cute.

* * *

The rest of the story came out over time, with Nick and Elmo sharing stuff when they felt comfortable. The gang found out they’d started dating after their job for Abner Cain. Nick had gotten really worried when he’d heard Elmo had nearly been hit by a car and had confronted him. The two had apparently sat down that night and had a long talk about their feelings. Elmo confessed he was crushing hard on Nick and Nick realised that he felt the same way, and that it had taken Elmo nearly dying for him to realise that.

Now that the gang were aware of the couple, they realised just how much Elmo and Nick talked about each other, how much they stared at each other when the other wasn’t looking. It wasn’t too obvious, but it certainly wasn’t subtle if you knew what to look for. The two orbited each other, completely smitten. Sure, they bickered and snarked but it was all with a fond smile and a glimmer in their eyes.

“Idiot.” Nick said fondly.

“Jerk.” Elmo laughed.

Nick revealed that while he was only romantically attracted to boys, he wasn’t interested in sex at all and he chose to identify himself by that first and foremost. Richelle asked Elmo if he was okay with that, to which Elmo had snapped that he would never ever pressure Nick into doing something he didn’t want to and that he was totally fine with just cuddling and the odd kiss, because he wasn’t confident enough in his body to ever really put himself on display like that. It suited the two of them and Richelle apologised for the insensitivity. Sunny took to asking Nick non-invasive questions about his sexuality, admitting that she’d told her mum about it and her mum thought she might be like him. It brought the two of them closer together, which was nice. Sunny and Nick used to have been as incompatible as Elmo and Richelle.

Elmo and Nick revealed that Zim knew but Nick’s parents didn’t. Nick said he wasn’t ready, and since his family was heavily religious, he couldn’t be sure how they might react. He said he was fine with just Zim knowing because Zim was basically family by now.

“Dad was the first person I told.” Elmo explained. “He was awesome about it. I think it’s because Miss Moss is gay, like me. She’s been educating him all these years.”

Nick and Elmo hadn’t told anyone else yet, though. Raven Hill was small and couldn’t exactly be considered a pinnacle of acceptance. The older population could be quite stubborn in their ways, and kids like the Work Demons weren’t well known for their tolerance and kindness.

“Plus,” Nick said one day. “We might lose work. Bigoted people might not hire us if they knew me and Elmo were a couple.”

“That shouldn’t matter.” Liz said fiercely. Teen Power Inc. might’ve been her baby but her friends were way more important.

“But it does.” Elmo said sadly.

Nick whispered something to him in Greek, tone reassuring, and Elmo smiled.

“Yeah, Brian would have a heart attack.” Tom snorted. “Actually, could we tell him? If we’re lucky, he might die and I wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore.”

“You’re not serious.” Liz frowned, but Sunny shook her head at her. Tom and his relationship with Brian was a problem for another day.

Over time, the gang realised just how sickeningly cute Nick and Elmo could be. They weren’t your typical couple but that didn’t stop them from doing a lot of traditional couple things that often took the other members of Teen Power Inc. by surprise.

“I’m glad you guys know.” Elmo said, resting his head on Nick’s shoulders. “I was worried at first but now I’m really happy. It was so exhausting to have to hide it.”

“He’s just happy because he gets to use me as a pillow.” Nick tugged on one of Elmo’s curls gently.

“You caught me.” Elmo grinned. “We still on for tonight?”

“What’s happening tonight?” Tom asked curiously.

“It’s date night.” Nick explained.

Richelle’s eyes lit up. “Are you going somewhere fancy? Need some fashion tips.”

“We can’t really go out like that.” Elmo said uncomfortably. “Date night is usually the movies, cause it’s dark. Or just walking around. Mostly we just stay in.”

“Sounds nice.” Sunny offered and Elmo brightened up again. “What’s the plan for tonight?”

“We’re working on some stuff for The Pen.” Nick winked at Elmo. Elmo laughed and tapped the skin right next to his eye in some sort of signal. There was something there that the rest of the gang knew better then to question.

One day, Elmo and Nick would be able to walk down the streets of Raven Hill hand in hand, heads held high. One day they’d be able to tell anybody they wanted to that they were dating, with no consequences. One day they could go on fancy dates to nice restaurants and hold hands over the table, dinner forgotten because they were so captivated by each other. One day they’d be able to get married if they wanted to, hands clasped together with matching rings glimmering in the light. One day, things would be different.

There wasn’t a single member of Teen Power Inc. who couldn’t wait for that day.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just here, minding my own business, writing for a ship I think only I ship and posting it because why not.
> 
> Seriously though, I love Teen Power Inc. and I love these two boys. It makes me happy to write about them and that's enough for me.


End file.
